The 2008 Olympics

Amanda & I really enjoyed the Olympics this summer - as evidenced by too many late weeknights spent watching women's gymnastics, swimming, women's beach volleyball and track & field. So, in case you were not watching, here's a little of what I thought were some of our most memorable moments with links to NBC's Olympic website for more info and videos:

• Opening Ceremonies - Honestly, the first time I've ever watched them from start to finish. I love the anticipation leading up to the lighting of the Olympic Flame, and this year was spectacular.
• Benjamin Boukpeti - Who? The 1st ever Olympic medalist from Togo, who won bronze in the individual whitewater kayaking event. Partly, because I got to re-live my whitewater experience during a corporate outing to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in North Carolina - where the U.S. athletes train - a few years ago. Mainly, because I hadn't seen anyone so appreciative of winning a medal, as this guy was when he crossed the finish line. Then, atop the podium he could barely contain himself as he waited for his turn for a medal to be place around his neck. I'm sorry, but I didn't see that once from many of the athletes who seem to find nothing less than gold to be acceptable. I really felt that his emotion truly demonstrated what winning an Olympic medal is supposed to feel like.
• Of course, we didn't miss a minute of Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin. Amanda favored Johnson, and she'd call out, "Your girl's on!" to me when Nastia was ready to take "the stage." So, basically, I just admitted that I watched every minute of women's gymnastics and not a single layup of men's basketball...
• Kerry Walsh and Misty May-Traenor - Women's beach volleyball was very exciting, despite their dominance of the sport. Kerry & Misty demonstrated excellent sportsmanship in all of their victories and I, especially, like the way the thanked the President, after they won the gold.
• Usain Bolt - If you appreciate ANY athletic competition, at all...and you didn't see Jamaica's Usain Bolt win his events, then you MUST search the website for video of his victories in the 100m and 200m's. The guy is superhuman! It was just incredible to watch him blow away from the other runners, then slow down before the finish, win and still break a world record!
• Dara Torres - One of the best displays of sportsmanship, was when she walked away from her starting position to alert one of the judges that the Australian swimmer has not made it to her block, yet. Risking disqualification, she held things up long enough for the other swimmer to make it to the pool, and then proceeded to with the event. The Australian swimmer came in second.
• Lolo Jones - Hers was one of the tougher moments to watch. In the 100m hurdles, she held the lead until she hit the 9th hurdle, ultimately, failing to medal. After, graciously, granting an on-track interview, she was photographed alone in one of the tunnels in a very private solemn moment for all the world to see. You couldn't help to feel so sorry for her.

Well, it's not my intention to provide a complete post-Olympic report. Rather, just provide a little reminder the next time the Olympics come around that there are a lot of exciting moments to watch for, if you know where to look.